Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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TITLE OF THE INVENTION
STORAGE RACK WITH IMPROVED TIE SUPPORT
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[01] Field of the Invention: The instant invention relates to ready-
to-assemble rack
storage systems. More specifically, the invention relates to an improved deck
beam
and C-shaped tie support arrangement which, under significant weight, prevents
or
limits the bowing or sagging of the deck beam, while also preventing outward
twisting
of the bottom flange of the deck beam.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[01a] According to an embodiment, there is provided a storage rack
comprising: left
and right rear vertical supports; left and right front vertical supports;
front and rear
horizontal deck beams respectively extending between and supported by each of
the
left and right, front and rear vertical supports, each of said deck beams
having an outer
vertical side wall, a horizontal lower leg extending inwardly, a horizontal
upper leg
extending inwardly, and a horizontal support ledge extending further inwardly
from
said upper leg at a height which is below the upper leg, said support ledge
and said
lower leg including a plurality of aligned slots extending parallel to a
longitudinal
extent of said deck beams; a C-shaped tie support having a vertically
extending side
wall, a horizontal top flange extending inwardly and a horizontal bottom
flange
extending inwardly parallel to the top flange, said top flange having front
and rear
ends and tabs extending downwardly from said front and rear ends, said front
and rear
ends of said top flange being seated on said support ledge of said front and
rear deck
beams with said tabs received into said slots, said bottom flange having front
and rear
ends and tabs extending downwardly from said front and rear ends, said front
and rear
ends of said bottom flange being seated on said lower leg of said front and
rear deck
beams with said tabs received into said slots, wherein the top and bottom
flanges of
said tie support cooperate to prevent sagging of the deck beams, and wherein
the
interlocking tabs and slots of the tie supports and the deck beams cooperate
to limit
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outward twisting of the bottom flange of the deck beams; and a planar shelf
received
and supported on said support ledge, wherein said shelf is flush with an upper
surface
of said horizontal upper leg of said deck beam to form a continuous planar
shelf
surface.
[01b] According to another embodiment there is provided a shelf for a
storage rack
comprising: front and rear horizontal deck beams, each of said deck beams
having an
outer vertical side wall, a horizontal lower leg extending inwardly, a
horizontal upper
leg extending inwardly, and a horizontal support ledge extending further
inwardly
from said upper leg at a height which is below the upper leg, said support
ledge and
said lower leg including a plurality of aligned slots extending parallel to a
longitudinal
extent of said deck beams; a C-shaped tie support having a vertically
extending side
wall, a horizontal top flange extending inwardly and a horizontal bottom
flange
extending inwardly parallel to the top flange, said top flange having front
and rear
ends and tabs extending downwardly from said front and rear ends, said front
and rear
ends of said top flange being seated on said support ledge of said front and
rear deck
beams with said tabs received into said slots, said bottom flange having front
and rear
ends and tabs extending downwardly from said front and rear ends, said front
and rear
ends of said bottom flange being seated on said lower leg of said front and
rear deck
beams with said tabs received into said slots, wherein the top and bottom
flanges of
said tie support cooperate to prevent sagging of the deck beams, and wherein
the
interlocking tabs and slots of the tie supports and the deck beams cooperate
to limit
outward twisting of the bottom flange of the deck beams; and a planar shelf
received
and supported on said support ledge, wherein said shelf is flush with an upper
surface
of said horizontal upper leg of said deck beam to form a continuous planar
shelf
surface.
[02] In an exemplary embodiment, a storage rack includes four
vertical corner
supports and a plurality of horizontal shelf assemblies each supported on the
vertical
corner supports.
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[03] Each shelf assembly comprises front and rear horizontal deck beams
which
extend side to side between and are supported by the vertical supports, a
plurality of
C-shaped tie supports extending front to back between the front and rear
horizontal
deck beams and a planar shelf supported on the interlocked tie supports and
deck
beams.
[04] Each of the deck beams has an outer vertical side wall, a horizontal
lower leg
extending inwardly, a horizontal upper leg extending inwardly, and a
horizontal
support ledge extending further inwardly from the upper leg at a height which
is below
the upper leg. The support ledge and the lower leg both include a plurality of
aligned
mounting slots extending parallel to a longitudinal extent of the deck beams.
[05] Each tie support has a vertically extending side wall, a horizontal
top flange
extending inwardly and a horizontal bottom flange extending inwardly parallel
to the
top flange. The top flange has front and rear ends and tabs extending
downwardly
from the front and rear ends. The bottom flange has front and rear ends and
tabs
extending downwardly from the front and rear ends. When assembled with the
deck
beams the front and rear ends of the top flange are seated on the support
ledge of the
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front and rear deck beams with the tabs received into the respective slots.
Similarly, the
front and rear ends of the bottom flange are seated on the lower leg of the
front and
rear deck beams with the tabs received into the respective slots.
[06] In use, the top and bottom flanges of the tie support cooperate to
limit the
sagging of the deck beams, while the interlocking tabs and slots of the tie
supports and
deck beams also cooperate to prevent outward twisting of the
deck beams.
[07] The planar shelf is received and supported on the lower support ledge
of the
deck beams, and on top of the tie supports wherein the top surface of the
shelf is flush
with the upper surface of the horizontal upper leg of the deck beams to form a
continuous planar shelf surface.
[08]
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[09] While the specification concludes with claims particularly pointing
out and
distinctly claiming particular embodiments of the instant invention, various
embodiments of the invention can be more readily understood and appreciated
from
the following descriptions of various embodiments of the invention when read
in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
[10] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment storage rack;
[11] Fig. 2 is another perspective view thereof, showing assembly of the
tie supports
with the deck beams;
[12] Fig. 3 is a perspective view of an exemplary tie support;
[13] Fig. 4 is a front view thereof;
[14] Fig. 5 is an end view thereof;
[15] Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the deck beam / tie support
interconnection
taken along line 6-6 of Fig. 1; and
[16] Fig. 7 is an enlarged perspective view from beneath showing the deck
beam / tie
support interconnection.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[17] Referring now to the drawings, an exemplary embodiment of the
inventive
storage rack is generally indicated at 10 in Figs. 1-7.
[18] In the exemplary embodiment, the storage rack 10 includes four
vertical corner
supports 12A-D and a plurality of horizontal shelf assemblies 14A-E each
supported on
the vertical corner supports 12A-D. It should be noted that while the storage
rack 10 is
illustrated with five (5) shelf assemblies, the rack could also include fewer
shelf
assemblies or more shelf assemblies as the user desires.
[19] The vertical supports 12A-D in the exemplary embodiment are provided
in end
pairs (12A-B) (12C-D) with the respective paired front and rear supports
connected by
smaller upper and lower horizontal braces 16 and an angle brace 18.
[20] As seen in Figs. 1-7, each shelf assembly 14 includes front and rear
horizontal
deck beams 20 which extend side to side between and are supported by the
vertical
supports 12A-D, a plurality of tie supports 22 extending front to back between
the front
and rear horizontal deck beams 20 and a planar shelf 24 supported on the
interlocked
tie supports 22 and deck beams 20.
[21] Each of the deck beams 20 is generally C-shaped in cross-section,
having an
outer vertical side wall 26, a horizontal lower leg 28 extending inwardly, a
horizontal
upper leg 30 extending inwardly, and a horizontal support ledge 32 extending
further
inwardly from the upper leg 30 at a height which is below the upper leg 30.
(See Figs. 2
and 6). The opposing ends of each deck beam 20 include angle channels 34 with
hook
tabs (not shown) that are received into corresponding slots 36 formed along
the length
of the vertical supports 12.
[22] Referring again to Figs. 2 and 6, the support ledge 32 and the lower
leg 28 of
each deck beam 20 respectively include a plurality of aligned mounting slots
38 extending parallel to a longitudinal extent of the deck beams 20.
[23] Referring to Figs. 3-7, each tie support 22 is also generally C-shaped
in cross-
section, having a vertically extending side wall 40, a horizontal top flange
42 extending
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,
inwardly and a horizontal bottom flange 44 extending inwardly parallel to the
top flange
42. The top flange 42 has front and rear ends and tabs 46 extending downwardly
from
the front and rear ends. Similarly, the bottom flange 44 also has front and
rear ends
and tabs 48 extending downwardly from the front and rear ends. Referring to
Figs. 3, 4
and 6 it can be clearly seen that the bottom flange 44 is slightly longer than
the top
flange 42 whereby the downwardly extending tabs 46 and 48 are horizontally
offset
from each other.
[24] When assembled with the deck beams 20 the front and rear ends of the
top
flange 42 are seated on the support ledge 32 of the front and rear deck beams
20 with
the tabs 46 received into the respective slots 38. Similarly, the front and
rear ends of
the bottom flange 44 are seated on the lower leg 28 of the front and rear deck
beams
20 with the tabs 48 received into the respective slots 38. (see Figs. 2, 6 and
7). As
illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 each shelf assembly 14 includes a plurality of
the tie supports
22 extending front to back between the deck beams 20.
[25] When assembled, C-shaped cross-section of the tie support 22,
cooperate to
limit the sagging of the deck beams 20, while the interlocking tabs 46,48 and
slots 38 of
the tie supports 22 and deck beams 20 cooperate to prevent outward twisting of
the
bottom flange 44 of the deck beams 20.
[26] As best illustrated in Figs. 1, 6, and 7, the planar shelf 24 is
received and
supported on the support ledges 32 of the deck beams 20, and on top of the tie
supports 22 wherein the top surface of the shelf 24 is flush with the upper
surface of the
horizontal upper leg 30 of the deck beams 20 to form a continuous planar shelf
surface.
In the exemplary embodiment, the shelf 24 comprises a mesh configuration.
However,
any form of planar shelving material 24 would be suitable in the context of
the
invention.
[27] Additionally, it should be noted that while all of components in the
exemplary
embodiment are preferably fabricated from a rigid metal material to provide
the highest
rigidity and durability, any individual component or all of the components
could be
fabricated from other materials with similar effect.
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[28] It can therefore be seen that the exemplary embodiment provides a
unique and
novel storage rack 10, which is easy to assemble and which provides a high
degree of
strength. The unique tie supports 22 provide an improved level of rigidity to
the rack
structure and prevent unwanted sagging and twisting of the deck beams under
heavy
loading.
[29] While there is shown and described herein certain specific structures
embodying
various embodiments of the invention, it will be manifest to those skilled in
the art that
various modifications and rearrangements of the parts may be made without
departing
from the scope of the underlying inventive concept and that the same is not
limited to the particular forms herein shown and described except insofar as
indicated
by the scope of the appended claims.